


The Water in the Basement

by TidbitsAndThoughts



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Blood, Bruises, and then jumps to Hat Kid as she begins the manor chapter, it's the prince chained up and when he dies, not a lot just a little mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:40:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25698955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TidbitsAndThoughts/pseuds/TidbitsAndThoughts
Summary: A quick fic that takes place near the end of the Prince's time in the Queen's basement. What happened in those last moments and what remained.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51





	The Water in the Basement

The grey wall across the room soon turned to black as his eyelids caved. A voice in the back of his head whispered alarm, for if he succumbed to sleep that would be the end. He heard but it did not register. No. His eyes had not closed. No. No. He was awake. He was—his head tipped and dropped. In a moment his heart felt like it stopped, and fear caused him to jerk awake. He blinked his puffy eyes open and fatigue choked his chest.

The Prince whimpered in the silence. His breath no longer looked white in the cold basement because he was as cold as the perpetual winter the Queen had brought. The chains holding him against the stone were covered in frost and dried blood. His wrists were blistered and cut from the sharp edge of the shackles. It hurt less if he remained still, but the less he moved the bluer his skin seemed to look.

Something wet slipped down his cheeks. He had the urge to touch his fingers to his face, but he swallowed it as more wet drops cascaded all the way down to the tips of his toes. Soft sounds of water droplets tumbling into puddles resounded in the basement. The Prince’s chest heaved as his hushed sobs burned in his throat. Unrelenting tears felt hot against his skin and he wondered how his breath could be frozen but not the water pooling at his feet.

He was tired of crying. Tired of aching. But he was kind of impressed he still had it in him to weep and to hurt. It made him feel human in ways the bruises spreading from his wrists and down to his shoulder did not. The bruises felt numb. That was always disappointing. Part of the fun of a bruise was poking it to see how much it hurt.

Numb and cold, it clung to his chest, to his lungs, to his stomach. There was once a time in this place in which he was thirsty and hungry. There was once a time where droplets did not sully the silence, but rather his screams, his cries, and his wails echoed desperately. But now he could not call for help. He wasn’t even sure he could whisper. Now, the thought of swallowing something tangible made him sick to his stomach.

The purple spread. His eyelids were heavy. But he still cried. The endless winter outside chilled the stone walls, but warm salt water sloshed at his feet. A victory, he thought. Vanessa could chain him, freeze him, and bruise him, but his tears would always be warm.

His head lolled forward. He blinked, looking down at the tufts of his hair in the corner of his eye. Was his hair bruising too? Odd. The stream of tears continued, and he found that the tips of his purple shoes were suspended in water.

“ ” he opened his mouth to try to call out, once more. Though _help_ sat clearly on his tongue, there was no voice to give it lift. The Prince accepted that even if he could speak, his words would have been futile anyway. There was no one to hear to him.

He was still crying. Perhaps it was better if he slept now. The tears were the last thing working, the last thing tethering him to humanity. Maybe it would be best to let go when he still had that.

He closed his puffy lids and let out a frozen breath. The gentle sound of droplets soothed him like a lullaby. His tears fell and he saw a golden light. Distantly, he expected, hoped and yearned for, warmth. All he felt was numb.

.

..

...

“Eep!” Hat Kid squeaked as she dropped into the basement from the cellar door. Water splashed at her entry and soaked into her clothes. Before she could mentally prepare to feel the sting of ice, she found the murky water to be warm.

Maybe the manor had heating? Wouldn’t that be nice after braving the frozen forest outside!

Well, she had better get whatever was in the attic so she could finish the contract and get her soul back. The water sloshed and splashed as she waded forward. Once she passed a wall with chains, a voice came from behind. She jumped, but quickly relaxed when she saw it was just one of the Snatcher’s minions.

“Boss wanted me to remind you that your contract says you can’t use your hats or umbrella inside.” The minion’s high-pitched voice was not unkind.

“It does not!” Hat Kid frowned, quickly reaching for her stack of contracts to double check.

“Boss’ orders.” The small, hooded being shrugged. “If you don’t comply, he’ll consider the terms of the contract violated.”

“Fine,” Hat Kid sighed, giving up on her search. “But why didn’t he tell me himself? He usually loves popping out of nowhere to give me an earful.”

“Oh.” The minion shook his head vigorously, the golden light in his hood bouncing with the movement. “Boss never comes in here. And none of us would want him to.”

“Why?” Hat Kid pressed. Considering he was a big scary ghost, what could be bad enough to keep him from the manor?

“Well…” The minion turned to leave, but not before the light from his hood hovered over the chains on the wall for a split second too long. “It’s not really my place to say. But, remember, no hats!” Before Hat Kid could ask more questions, the minion scuttled out.

Sighing, Hat Kid resigned herself to focusing on the task at hand. She waded through the water, found a key, and soon located the locked door.

As soon as she pushed open the wooden door that led up a level, cold air slammed into her, sending shivers down her spine. Giving a rueful glance back at the basement warmed by water, she hiked onwards into the cold.


End file.
